Things Really Are Better Now

Opinion

Murray Bronson's 1999 resignation as Osceola County tax collector is a prime example.

There were plenty of reasons to wonder what was going on after Mr. Bronson left office in the wake of a grand jury recommendation that he be removed from office. The grand jury investigation revealed an office rife with examples of sloppy accounting, mismanagement and even criminal acts.

Morale and public confidence were at a low point when Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Patsy Heffner to replace Mr. Bronson. Mrs. Heffner was elected to the position last year and has continued to make tremendous strides in modernizing systems and restoring confidence in the office.

Part of that has been training employees and rebuilding the confidence and teamwork of the office's 60 full-time and five part-time workers.

It is unfortunate that a worker in the Buenaventura Lakes office was arrested last week in connection with $3,000 in unaccounted funds.

It's the kind of incident that could once again raise public suspicions. It appears to be the same kind of problem that existed in the past. But this time, the problem was found in a reasonable amount of time and appropriate action was taken.

The very procedures that Mrs. Heffner implemented led to last week's discovery.

That's a good sign for the public to latch on to, as well as other improvements made at the office since Mr. Bronson's departure.

The Tax Collector's Office Web site -- osceolataxcollector.com -- has great potential to help residents. Information of all kinds is available at the touch of a mouse.

Payments for a variety of items such as tag renewals, boat registrations, property taxes, occupational licenses and hunting and fishing licenses can be made over the Internet. Also, a variety of forms can be downloaded from the site.

The county's tax roll is now available online.

These are the kinds of services that residents should expect from their government. The Web site is a good complement to the Clerk of the Court's office, which has also upgraded services, including the ability to pay traffic citations online.

The fact that local government offices are moving into the future, offering residents technology and better service, is something we should all embrace.